Promotion of Diversity

Promotion of Diversity

As part of its efforts to become the No. 1 group for customer trust, Suzuken promotes diversity to foment a climate that draws on individuality, where unique employees with different genders, ages, nationalities, values, ways of working, and so on grow while competing with one another.

1. Advancing women's success in their working life

[1] Creating a system that produces female leaders on an ongoing basis

Suzuken is creating a system that produces female leaders on an ongoing basis with the goal of incorporating diverse views and values into the hierarchy that decides the direction of the company.

We have a female leader development support program for female employees who are eager to demonstrate their management skills. In addition, a seminar for managers is also held as the understanding and support of upper management are indispensable for the development of female employees.

Furthermore, we host a female career-track seminar for career-track female employees to think about harnessing their abilities to the fullest and contributing to the workplace even after major life events.

Through the above efforts, we hope to promote at least 25 female employees in fiscal 2016.

Leader seminar for female employees

Seminar for managers

[2] Formulation of action plan based on Act to Advance Women's Success in their Working Life

We formulated an action plan in March 2016 based on the Act to Advance Women's Success in their Working Life.

2. Efforts to support work-life balance

We are improving and instilling the idea of a system that allows women to continue working even after life events.

[1] Programs

We have implemented the following programs, which go above and beyond what is required by law:

Childcare leave program that can be utilized until a child reaches his or her second birthday

Shorter working hours program that can be utilized until a child graduates from elementary school

Nursing care leave program that can be utilized for up to 365 days

*Can be utilized until the end of the fiscal year after a child turn 2 years old if the child has not been successfully placed in a daycare center by the day the child turn 2 years old (the day before his or her birthday)

[2] Support of work-life balance for female sales representatives

Six group pharmaceutical wholesalers including Suzuken have been holding a group joint seminar for female sales representatives since 2014 with the goal of supporting the careers of female sales representatives. During the seminar, senior employees who are striking a balance between work and child rearing and senior employees in managerial position tell their stories and offer their advice to help attendees understand that we are a company where they can continue to work despite the challenge of life events. In the seminar, management and participants are also given an opportunity to get together and exchange views.

Group joint seminar for female sales representatives

Interviewing a senior employee

[3] Active support of work-life balance for employees

As the importance of achieving work-life balance increases, Suzuken has been making efforts to enhance its child support system in accordance with the spirit of the Act for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation.

Having received Standards Compliant General Business Owner Accreditation based on the Act for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation, we acquired the next-generation accreditation mark known affectionately as “KURUMIN” in July 2011.

*KURUMIN is the nickname for the accreditation mark given by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Based on the Act for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation that came into effect in April 2005, the mark is given to business owners who have formulated and implemented an action plan that supports the child rearing of employees, and after the results of the action plan have met certain requirements.

Through the above efforts, Suzuken will continue to actively support female employees to give them more opportunities to thrive.

3. Fomenting climate of diversity (drawing on individuality)

The goal of diversity efforts at Suzuken is to create an environment where each and every employee finds his or her work challenging and rewarding, and where employees can have both a fulfilling career and a fulfilling life outside of work (drawing on individuality).

As part of these efforts, we have created and distributed to all employees a diversity pamphlet that contains the stories of 182 employees who are both thriving in the workplace and are leading fulfilling lives outside of work.

Diversity pamphlet

Image of pamphlet

Using this pamphlet, each department conducts a diversity workshop for employees to think about how to act to make the most of his or her individuality. The goal of this effort is to deepen the mutual understanding between employees and increase the power of the workplace by having employees share their knowledge and strengths.

Diversity workshop

4. Promotion of employment that takes into account diversity

Reemployment after reaching retirement age

In accordance with the amendment to the Law for the Stabilization of Employment of the Aged enacted in April 2013, Suzuken has introduced a continued employment system in which it rehires employees who have reached the age of 60 until they reach the age where they are eligible for the earnings-related component of their pension, after which they are hired as contract employees under given conditions until they reach the age of 65. The continued employment system applies not only to Suzuken but to all 24 companies in the Suzuken Group as a preferential measure. Thus, we are providing employees who want to continue working more opportunities to make use of their knowledge, skills, and experience.

Promoting employment of disabled persons

From the standpoint of CSR, Suzuken fully understands the purport of the Act on the Promotion of the Employment of Disabled Persons, and it is making efforts to promote the employment of disabled persons by recruiting at schools, actively participating in job fairs sponsored by Public Employment Security Offices, and so forth. We established Suzuken Join Us as a special subsidiary company in December 2013, which actively employs disabled persons and boasts an environment where employees can work together regardless of whether they have a handicap or not. It has 77 employees as of June 1, 2015, giving us an employment rate of 2.05%, which exceeds the legal employment rate (2.0%). We will continue to actively employ disabled persons, and make efforts to create a workplace and develop positions that are friendly to disabled persons in order to further expand and radicate employment opportunities.